


Live in the Moment

by TheCowJumpedOverTheMoon



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Connor, Androids, Bisexual Hank Anderson, Connor Deserves Happiness, Cute, Depressed Hank Anderson, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Fluff, Hank Anderson Swears, Idiots in Love, M/M, One Shot, Protective Hank Anderson, Romantic Fluff, Talking, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 16:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17853296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCowJumpedOverTheMoon/pseuds/TheCowJumpedOverTheMoon
Summary: Connor returns after overcoming death once again. Hank and Connor reunite, and discuss life, death, and the concept of immortality on a snowy night in Detroit.





	Live in the Moment

**Author's Note:**

> [TW : Offhand implied mention of suicide]   
> Okay so I really shouldn't be writing more fanfiction and overloading myself but I wanted something fluffy and non Reylo for a change and I ship these two idiots like mad. Slightly OOC as Hank is way more talkative and patient with Connor than he'd usually be. Connor still asks a million questions because of course he does.

"Connor."

"Detective Anderson."

"Thought for sure you were a 'gonner this time."

Connor thought he could see the whisper of a smile at the edge of the Detective's lips, as though he was in fact pleased to see him. They stood a few metres apart, Hank with his hands stuffed into his coat pocket as he eyed Connor from a distance, as though trying to spot any differences from the Connor who'd been gunned down by a rogue deviant just yesterday. He doubted he would spot any. 

"Well, that's one of the many benefits of being an android Detective, my body is replaceable. Its simply a matter of re-uploading the data to a new host."

Not even a twitch - the kid didn't ever miss a beat. Hank huffed, the cold air puffing away from his pursed lips as the snow fell softly around them. 

"You're immortal, then?"

"No-one's immortal, Hank. Not even me. This-" Connor reached a hand to tap the side of his temple with the quietest clink of metal "-is invaluable. If my frontal cortex is damaged I'm what humans would consider deceased."

"Not so different from the rest of us after all." Hank scoffed, coughing slightly. "Never really thought there'd be much fun in immortality anyway."

"How so?"

"That's the Connor I know - asking too many damn questions" he scolded, his eyes meeting Connor's inquisitive but neutral gaze before continuing. "I just don't think humans have the mental capacity for immortality is all. If we knew we had all the time in the world, who's to say how differently we'd act?"

Connor quirked an eyebrow ever so slightly, silently willing Hank to elaborate further. He rolled his eyes in response, before turning on his heel and slowly walking away, Connor following and keeping in time with his step until they walked side by side. 

"Okay, so let's say the average Joe finds out he's immortal. What is the first thing man's gonna think?"

"That he can do whatever he pleases."

"Exactly." Hank raises a hand, waving a finger. "There's no consequence. Now, I'm not saying he goes out and acts crazy, a criminals a criminal and you can bet there'd still be idiots like us in law enforcement. But..."

He pauses for a moment, as if trying to find the right words.

"...theres no finality. No end date. And that's dangerous, because nothing has any value anymore. All throughout history we've been told to focus on the here and now - we write bucket lists, we get dumb phrases like Carpe Diem tattooed on our damn bodies-"

"To sieze the day." Connor quips. The crunching of their soles stepping into the fresh snow seems to echo in the silence around them, the only other audible sound the gentle hum of the river. 

"Yeah, that bullshit. If our time on earth is finite then we're gonna savour it a little more. Make it worth our while. I know all too damn well about dyin' before your time, and if you don't know when it's gonna happen you've gotta make the best of it. Tick off all those damn bucket list items. Climb a mountain, or whatever."

Hank shuffled his feet awkwardly as he walked, pushing his hands deeper into his pockets. Connor could sense the sudden shift in mood, and he knew enough about Hank to know that this was a tricky subject, and one he rarely talked about. For him to offer up a dialogue about it was highly unusual, and Connor supposed he was throwing him a conversational role to grasp onto. 

"Do you think Cole would have liked to have climbed a mountain?" The android asked. Perhaps a few months ago Hank would have found his question rude, or invasive, or maybe even insensitive. But there was no mistaking the sincerity in Connor's voice.

"I don't know, Con. Maybe."

Connor flinched slightly at the softness of his voice - and mentally took note the use of a shortened version of his name, which he took to mean affection and comrarderie. Closeness. He couldn't hide the slight inkling of a smile that tempted to pull at the edges of his cheeks.

"Do you want to climb a mountain?"

Hank scoffed at that, a hearty laugh tumbling from his mouth. "Not a fuckin' chance. Do I _look_ like someone who could climb a mountain?"

"Well, with the correct training and tools you could perhaps tackle a smaller one."

"Fuck you, Connor."

Connor simply smiled to himself. They walked comfortably in silence for a few minutes before he chose to speak again.

"Do you believe everyone has their 'time' then, when it comes to dying? That it's some kind of pre-destined choice?"

"Hmm. Maybe not pre-destined. But I think we all have our time to go, and maybe it's not chosen by some big guy in the sky, but we can't choose it. So we have to make our peace with it, and accept it for what it is, whenever that may be." 

"I hadn't pegged you as the spiritual type, Hank."

"I'm not. And I didn't always think that. After...well, you know. I found myself thinkin' about it a lot. And I think in a way I've made my peace with it. Doesn't mean I'm fuckin' happy about it, but I can't change when someone dies - just gotta make your peace with the universe."

"Thats interesting, because you were playing fast and loose with Russian Roulette just a few weeks ago, and that doesn't seem like a choice the universe would have made."

"There's an element of chance in there, fuck you." Hank muttered something under his breath and paced faster ahead, but Connor soon caught up with him, so he slowed his pace again. "It is what it is Connor. Humans aren't as cut and dry as you'd like them to be. We think things, we believe in things, we contradict ourselves. It's just how we are."

"I'm sorry Detective, I didn't mean to offen-"

"Just go back to callin' me Hank, I'm not offended. No need to jump back to your protocol work mode or whatever it is."

Connor looked puzzled, as though his complex brain were trying to comprehend a problem it couldn't solve - a problem it hadn't even realised existed before. Hank almost thought he could see the coggs whirring, until Connor interrupted his trail of thought with yet another question.

"Do you have any regrets?"

“How's that?" Hank quirked a brow. 

"You said humans are conditioned to 'live in the moment'. Is there anything you regret, anything you wished you'd done in your life?"

"Hmm. Well I'm not sure you fully understand what you're asking."

"How so?" Connor quirked his head to the side ever so slightly.

"Well, by living in the moment we should live without regrets. Regrets imply we're looking to the past to try and solve our problems, to do it all again. To live in the moment, you would have no regrets. You're actin' on impulse - you feel you should do something so you do it. If you regret you're overthinking and over-analysing - like you do." He pointed a finger at Connor's head. "You analyse everything before you do it, right? Possible outcomes, possible problems, and you choose the path that has the best chance of success. Right?"

"Yes. It's a bit of an over-simplification, but yes."

"Okay. So regrets and living in the moment are opposite ends of the spectrum. For you to live in the moment you'd have to make a snap judgement without basing it on a best possible outcome - you'd be choosing what you feel in here-" Hank tapped at his chest "-rather than what's in your head. It might not always be the right choice, but it's the one that feels right in the moment. Do you understand?"

Connor quirked his brow again, moving to cross his arms across his chest. "That sounds an awful lot like deviancy to me, Hank."

"Huh. I guess it is." He slowed down slightly, as though letting the concept float in the air as he considered it.

"So to 'live in the moment' I would need to ignore my programming, and do what I intrinsically want to do, regardless of the potential outcome?"

"Yeah, but you make it sound more sinister, and its not necessarily that. You're not totally disregarding the rules of society and the feelings of other people, you're making a decision that maybe would be considered out of character, or I don't know, bold."

"Does this relate to matters of the heart, Hank?"

A slight tinge of pink rose to the older man's cheeks before he shook his head and it was gone, leaving Connor questioning if he'd imagined the visceral reaction in the man.

"In some ways, sure. But it's seen as living adventurously, or opening yourself up to new experiences. So, let's say-" Hank moved towards the edge of the bay, leaning on the railings that looked out onto the icy river as Connor moved to stand beside him. "-its a sunny day and you're really hot-"

"I don't register temperature as humans do."

"Okay, whatever, but let's just pretend you do. So you see this river, and your brain thinks, hey, I should just go for a swim in the river to cool down."

"The water would malfunction upon contact with the water and my biomechanics would shut down."

"This is hypothetical Connor, just pretend." Hank huffed to himself before continuing. "So the sensible bit of your brain would say, well no, that's stupid. Did you bring a change of clothes, a towel? And jumping into a river is dumb, that current can get awful strong. Plus, someone like me would probably come over and tell you to get out because it's dangerous. There are lots of things that suggest it's a bad idea."

"Why would you do it then?" Connor pressed. 

"Because its fun." He shrugs his shoulders, glancing out across the lake. "You wanna cool down. Maybe you just enjoy swimming. It makes you feel free."

Connor found himself zoning in on Hank's wistful gaze as he looked across at the water, the ghost of a smile appearing as if he was recalling a fond memory. Connor felt his heart rate increase substantially.

Hank turned back to Connor, searching his eyes for something, before turning back to the water and moving to cross his arms and lean on the railing as he observed the quiet of the landscape.

They both remained silent for a moment, enjoying the tranquility of the moment. Connor felt his fingers twitch just slightly and he tried his best to bury the feeling in his core.

"Aaaaaalllright, we should get going, that's enough philosophy for to-"

Before Hank could finish his sentence, Connor had moved towards him in a flash, his smooth fingers gracing the sides of his face as he crushed his lips into his. Hank felt himself freeze at the touch and intimacy, and before he had time to wrap his head around what had happened, the android had moved away, his face shocked at his own actions as though he was just acknowledging the true magnitude of what he'd done.

"Connor, wha-"

"I was living in the moment, Hank." His voice was low, quiet, and Hank sensed a nervous tone in it that he hadn't recognised before.

"Sure, but did you do that because you wanted to see what would happen when you 'lived in the moment' or because you genuinely wanted to it?"

"I wanted to." There was no hesitation in Connor's voice, just certainty. He stood taller, his back straight and his arms resting firmly at his sides.

"Huh. Guess that makes you a deviant now." Hank shrugged his shoulders, and moved to walk away.

"Wha-Hank, wait!" Connor fretted as he heard the man chuckle ahead of him, as he sprung forward to catch up with him. He grabbed the man's shoulders, stopping him in his tracks and making him look right at him. "Am I?" His voice was meek and he was almost trembling.

"Who cares if you are?" Hank summised. "Sure as hell doesn't matter to me."

"But! Amanda wil-"

"Look, you can still complete your mission if you're a deviant. You're just exercising your free will." Hank's voice grew quieter as he moved towards the anxious man, cupping his cheeks in his hands, feeling him lean slightly into his touch. "I won't tell" He whispered, the cold puffs of air growing closer to Connor's face.

Tentatively, Hank moved his lips to meet the other man's again, but gently - no hesitation, no doubt, but enough that he wouldn't terrifying him with his bold gesture. He was surprised to find the feeling returned instantly, as Connor moved his hands up to his chest, gripping at the firm leather of his jacket, pulling him in closer as he deepened the kiss.

As their lips finally parted, Hank smiled warmly, the corner of his mouth tugging up, and Connor thought it felt an awful lot like home. He smiled in return, a wave of relief falling over him as he loosened his grip on Hank's jacket and let the taller man pull him into a tight embrace.

"Welcome back, Con."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first time writing HankCon so please be gentle - but your feedback is very much appreciated!


End file.
